Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

“Hey, are you in the mood today?”
“Nyaa.”

After getting out of the bath, I went back to the living room and talked to Mashiro who was there.
She was lying on the sofa, looking at the TV, her whole body was covered with white fur: a beautiful cat.

This was the Mashiro I’m used to.
Sometimes she spends her time in the form of a cat, as she says that both states are her true nature.
When I asked her about it, she told me that surprisingly, she spends most of her time relaxing in her cat form while I’m at work.

I’ve heard that when it comes to doing housework, it is impossible to do it without looking like a person, but I guess that’s true.
In fact, housework was quite hard work, and of course, it was not something you can do in the form of a small cat.

On top of that, she seemed to be more comfortable in her cat form, so she kept it that way when she took a break or slept.
In this case, I would say that the smaller body was the way. Surprisingly, it seemed to be convenient in that aspect, but I wonder how it really is…

However, except on weekends and days off, the only time I could see Mashiro was in the morning and at night, and during those times, she was busy cooking and rarely changed from her human form.
As for me, I’d like to see Mashiro in her cat form a little more, but there was no way I could ask her to do that.

That’s why my heart jumped a little when I saw Mashiro in cat form when I got out of the bath like this.

“Did you see any funny scenes while I was away?”
“Meow.”

Mashiro shook her head. I was relieved to see that there were no scenes that I missed.
I let out a breath and sat down next to her and started watching TV again.

It was not like Mashiro’s conversations have increased dramatically since she took human form, so it didn’t particularly bother me when she replied in cat language.
Of course, it was not that I could understand cat language, but I could feel it somehow.

We continued to watch TV without much conversation, but before I knew it, my eyes started to look at Mashiro.
Now that I only get to see her a few times a week. I couldn’t help but take a closer look at her.

I don’t really have a preference between the two forms, but I guess nothing can beat the cuteness of cats.
Even though they are just laying down, I never get tired of watching them just by the way they twitch their ears or wiggle their tails.

And when I saw her close to me, it was only natural for a cat owner to want to pet them.
I slowly reached out my hand to Mashiro, and just as I was about to…I stopped myself; my reasoning kicked in.

I used to pet Mashiro on a daily basis before she took human form, but now I’m not so sure.
The fact that she was in human form didn’t make her a different person, but she never told me how she felt about being petted.

If you think about it normally, stroking a girl’s body is just a crime even if you don’t make a single mistake.
The thought of it made me hesitant to stroke her as I had done before.

“Hey, Mashiro.”

….But that doesn’t mean I’ve asked Mashiro how she feels yet.
It may seem like a lot to give up, but the bottom line was that if I could get permission from her, then there was no problem.

“Nyan.”
“Well, can I touch you for a minute?”

Even though I was aware of how uncomfortable it was, I said the words to Mashiro.
As expected, she gave me a puzzled look.

“N-No. I just want to know if you didn’t like it when I was stroking you before…”
“…”
“So it’s not like I have any other intentions…”
“…”
“I’m sorry. I just want to stroke your fluffy fur.”

Under Mashiro’s silent pressure, my true feelings spilled out of my mouth.
I apologized to Mashiro, reflecting on the fact that this was a level of weirdness that was unavoidable.

Then, without saying a word, Mashiro slowly approached me.
I wondered if she was about to give me a punch…but instead of giving me a punch, she climbed onto my lap.

“M-Mashiro.”
“Nyan.”
“Can I pet you…?”

Mashiro didn’t say anything and just curled up on my lap.
She was silent, as she had been before, but the intention that came from her was different.

Grateful for Mashiro’s generosity, I slowly placed my hands on her body.
It was the first time I had touched her in a long time, and the feeling was the same as when I had touched her before, like I was being sucked in.
I could feel her body heat through her pure white fur, soft and fluffy, and it made me happy just to stroke her.

That day, I stroked Mashiro to my heart’s content and fell asleep with a smile on my face.

When I woke up, I found Mashiro standing in the kitchen, wearing a shirt and apron as usual, and I felt embarrassed about what I had done yesterday.

“G-Good morning, Mashiro.”
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
“Thanks to you…well, I’m sorry about last night.”
“No, I don’t mind.”

I thought she might be in a bit of a bad mood, but surprisingly, Mashiro was quite calm.
I was relieved to hear that Mashiro was in a good mood, because if she was, I might lose her food, which is my reason for living these days.

“Well, does it make you uncomfortable to be petted?”

To confirm, I asked Mashiro again what I hadn’t been able to ask her yesterday.
It wasn’t just yesterday, I had stroked Mashiro many times in the past.
If it had caused her any stress, I had to apologize sincerely.

“That’s not true. Of course I don’t like to be touched by strangers.”
“Well, sounds right…”
“But I trust you, Satou-san.”
“I-I see.”
“Yes.”

She said it so matter-of-factly that I couldn’t reply without a stutter.
She looked at me so straight in the eyes that I couldn’t even look at Mashiro and fiddled with my bed head.